Skip to main content

Year Three, Day 32: Sweet Success!

Wow.

I really don't know if I have words.  Imagine that?

It is 10:30 p.m. Tuesday evening. I just got home a bit ago from the end of the year choir concert at the music center. It was incredible!

Especially since the whole group, including myself was rather insecure about our parts up until last night when I led a sectional for the altos.

But we pulled it together. Our director was his usual vivacious self.  It was pure magic the way we came together. During warmups he complimented us, expressing amazement at how good the group sounded. One of the altos piped up, "It was because of Zita!"

They all laughed. But my heart was warmed.

I won't go into detail. I am tired. And close to tears. Performance does this to me. But it is good.

We received thunderous applause after our performance.  The director and I were given flowers.  The choir gave me a card with $ in it which I will put towards my grandma car!  I will be able to buy it soon. Thank God, because my grandbaby is due in three short months and my daughter and her husband have moved over the river to Vancouver, Washington!

The director of the music center even acknowledged me in a speech onstage as he was handing out musical awards.

After the performance, when people were mingling, hugging and offering words of congratulations, one of the singers came up and told me how much she appreciated my piano playing. I confided in her. I needed to say this. I said, "It is a good thing I suffer from low self esteem. Because I was afraid I could not pull off leading the choir last week, or even the sectional. I was also even afraid I wasn't prepared to play the piano part. But that made me work extra hard. And so the compliments I am getting are that much sweeter!"

Let's hear it for low self esteem!

And I am inspired.  I want to commit to regular piano practice again.  I have said this before. I seem to be always starting over. But the time is now!  It felt so good to succeed!

Success is indeed sweet!

Side note:  Our performance was not perfect.  But the music was extremely challenging and we gave it our best.  A lot of heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears went into that musical performance.

 I am so glad to be part of this group.  They are on break for the summer. And when we resume practice in the fall, I shall be a grandma!

I have lived a lot of life while accompanying this choir.  It is time I acknowledged how truly grateful I am to be a part of it.

On that note, I must go to bed.  I imagine I will have a post performance hangover tomorrow.  But it was worth it!

Happy Tuesday!

Talk to you tomorrow.


Love,

Zita



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Year Four, Day 328: Success at Last!! This is What I Do

Hello My Long Lost Friends! Or, perhaps it was I who was lost? And now I think I am beginning to find myself!  Under layers of fat, and self loathing!  How's that for an opening line!  Or perhaps the title of a novel:  Layers of Fat and Self-Loathing! Today I stepped on the scale.  I am weighing myself every morning these days. I was shocked! I told my partner the scale must be broken!  Yesterday I weight 186. Today 185! I have been on a strict intermittent fast for the past 10 weeks. I have officially lost 12 pounds!  And the best news is I think I not only can stick to this way of eating, I am actually beginning to really enjoy it!  And look how far I've come! I've been writing since May 12, 2015.  Over 8 years now!  I know this blog post says Year Four, Day 328, but there have been many pauses in blogging. For instance, when I am not pleased with progress or simply have no words! I was 53 when I first began blogging. I am now 61. I honestly feel better than I did 8 years

Year Four, Day 335: "Crisis Fatigue"

Hello Friends! I have missed you! I have been so utterly exhausted and downright depressed, that I couldn't summon enough energy to even lift my fingers to this computer keyboard to write.  Apparently there is a mental disorder for people going through crises.  Crises such as pandemics, systemic racism, political division, unemployment, police brutality, civil unrest.... It's called "crisis fatigue". When humans are presented with a threat, adrenaline is released to give us quick energy. This is called the "fight or flight syndrome". But when threats are overwhelming, and perceivably continuous, like this year, it overwhelms the system. People can feel numb, depressed, anxious and irritable. Yup. That's me.  I guess I'm quite normal after all! I found an interesting article that describes crisis fatigue, especially in relation to current events.  But it doesn't really address how to take care of ourselves during these unsettling times!

Year Two, Day 313: Most Excited Am I!

I almost started today's blog with my standard, "Most tired am I" And I am. So tired. And ready for spring.  But tonight when I got home, my wonderful housemate told me that I had a package waiting for me on the counter.  So I ran in and found the book I had been waiting for: Open Mind, Open Heart , by Thomas Keating. Most excited am I! I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave, filled my water and was heading downstairs to open my new book - but I had to detour around the cat who had just killed and attempted to eat a spider. Good kitty! :) I ordered this book the day that I was inspired to turn my introversion into a positive. To use it as a stepping stone to a deeper relationship with God. To go up to the next level in my spiritual path. Thomas Keating is known as "The leader within the Catholic world in the task of recovering our Christian contemplative heritage" Ewert H. Cousins, General Editor, "World Spirituality, An Encyclopedic Hist